Class of 2021
Tom Duquette
Julie Shiflet
David Teel
Melvin ‘B.J.’ Upton
Mark West
TOM DUQUETTE of Virginia Beach was an All-American lacrosse player at University of Virginia, leading the Cavs to an NCAA title in 1972. He remains one of the top 10 scorers in school history.
After graduation, Duquette played on the U.S. National Team that won the world championship in 1974. He has more than 300 coaching victories at Norfolk Academy and has been named the state’s top high school coach five times. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001.
JULIE SHIFLET of Virginia Beach is the most decorated tennis player to emerge from Hampton Roads. At First Colonial High School, she won two state singles championship and teamed with her sister Laurie to win one in doubles. As an amateur player at the junior level she was ranked among the nation’s top 10 and her prestigious junior titles included two U.S. Clay Court Championships and the 1987 Easter Bowl.
After an All-American career at William and Mary, she played
professionally and was ranked among the world’s top 200. Along with her family, she has played a major role in promoting tennis in Hampton Roads through the Virginia Beach Tennis and Country Club.
David Teel, a native of Maryland and a graduate of James Madison
University, spent 35 years as a sportswriter and columnist at the
Daily Press in Newport News. The Virginia Press Association named him the state’s top sportswriter 13 times. His specialty is commentary on college sports, and for the Daily Press he covered 36 consecutive ACC basketball tournaments, 28 NCAA Final Fours and 33 bowl games. He has won dozens of national awards and was inducted into the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame. Teel currently covers sports for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
MELVIN “B.J.” UPTON, a graduate of Greenbrier Christian High School in Chesapeake, went on to a 12-year career in Major League Baseball. As a high school senior, Upton played for the U.S. National Team (18-and-under) and batted .462. The Tampa Bay Rays selected him with the second pick in the 2002 draft, and he was in the majors by age 19. An electrifying player with great speed, Upton hit 164 home runs and stole 300 bases. In 2008 he hit seven postseason home runs and drove in 16 runs during Tampa’s run to the World Series.
MARK WEST, a native of Petersburg, was a three-time basketball All-American at Old Dominion University in Norfolk and twice led the nation in blocked shots. At ODU he finished with 1,308 points and 1,113 rebounds.
He went on to play 17 seasons in the NBA for seven teams, including the 1993 West Division champion Phoenix Suns. His career shooting percentage (.580) is third in NBA history. Since 2001, West has served in several front office positions for the Phoenix Suns and currently serves as the team’s Director of Alumni Relations.